West Indies announce Test tour of Zimbabwe

What's the story?

Following their tour of England, West Indies will tour Zimbabwe for a two-match Test series beginning on October 21. Both matches will be played at the Queens' Sports Club in Bulawayo and it will also see the return of Kyle Jarvis and Brendan Taylor, who will be making their national comeback in the series.

The No.8 ranked Test side will travel to Zimbabwe to play a three-day practice match that begins on October 15. Following which, the first Test will take place on October 21 and the second Test will begin on October 29.

In case you didn't know...

West Indies travelled to Zimbabwe last year for a tri-series and will now come to the country to play two Tests. That will be their next international assignment after losing to England 2-1 in the Test series, winning the one-off T20I and losing the five-match ODI series 4-0.

Earlier this year, Zimbabwe's tour of Sri Lanka also included their first away Test since 2014. While they did lose the Test, they won the ODI series and also became the first away side to scale a target in excess of 300 in ODIs.

The Details

After running Sri Lanka close earlier this year, Zimbabwe will be boosted by the return of former stars Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis. Following the 2015 World Cup, Taylor left Zimbabwe for Nottinghamshire on a Kolpak deal. While the fast bowler, Jarvis last played for his country in 2013 before signing a similar deal with Lancashire.

Both players ended their contracts with the English county sides and will be looking to make a successful return to international cricket during the upcoming series against West Indies.

What's next?

Following the Test series against West Indies, Zimbabwe will travel to South Africa and play in their maiden Day-Night Test. After the Test tour of Zimbabwe, Windies will then travel to New Zealand for a full tour, which includes two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is beginning on December 1.

Author's take

After their impressive showing in their tour of Sri Lanka, the announcement of a Test series is great news for Zimbabwe. After almost pulling off one of the biggest upsets in recent past when they came close to beating Sri Lanka in the solitary Test, more Test cricket signals good news for the sport in the country. That the series will also involve two stars in Taylor and Jarvis will only help in bringing more fans to the stadium and help rejuvenate cricket in Zimbabwe.